Christmas is just a few weeks away. This year, there seems to be a trend towards making handmade gifts for friends and family. It’s a good way to save money, if you happen to be creative. It is also a great way to find the perfect gift for loved ones who are hard to shop for. If you start this weekend, there is still time to make handmade gifts for the genealogists in your family!
Start by figuring out where your talents lie. Can you knit, crochet, or sew? Are you good at drawing, or better at doing arts and crafts? Are you someone who enjoys scrapbooking? Do you excel at using Photoshop? Once you figure out what you are good at, you will have a much easier time creating handmade gifts for the genealogists in your family.
Next, you need to decide what to make. Here are a few suggestions for some handmade gifts that are perfect for genealogists. Those of you who sew can make a very quick pocket, or sleeve pouch. Make one that will snugly fit over a loved one’s iPod, iPad, or laptop computer. Genealogists do a lot of research, and often this research requires spending time in a library, archive, or courthouse, where the information is held. Many people now prefer to take notes on a handheld computer, instead of using the more traditional pen and paper. The more you carry around a piece of technology, the greater the chance that it will get dropped, spilled on, or have something happen that will scratch the screen. A snug pocket, of colorful, soft, and possibly even padded material, will help protect a genealogist’s favorite electronic device. If you are really talented at knitting or crocheting, you can create a “technology pocket” that way, instead.
People who scrapbook may already have in mind a specific idea about to display some old family photos. You can beautifully display photos of the genealogist’s grandparents, or great grandparents, and decorate the page in a meaningful way. You might consider framing your work, and giving it as a gift that can be easily displayed. Those of you who love to use photoshop can use it to create a scrapbook type of artwork. Print it on photo paper, and frame it.
Need a gift for a genealogist who is a grandparent? Try this! Tape a large piece of white paper to a door, get a bright lamp or flashlight, and a chair. Invite each of this person’s grandchildren to sit in the chair, and hold still, as you trace the silhouette of their face and head onto the paper. From there, you can use these tracings to create portraits of each grandchild. These can be framed and displayed. Imagine, a wall of the grandparent’s home, filled with these simple, yet striking, images of their grandchildren!
Image by Javier Ignacio Acuna Ditzel on Flickr